The blue collar illustrator

bleeeeeeeeeet

2011-04-01T12:39:00.001-07:00

... testing

popjellyfish.com

2009-08-27T12:10:00.000-07:00

http://popjellyfish.com/

I have a new website, which I'll be using instead of this one. Please redirect there for updates and such.

The Magistrate

2009-07-07T04:11:00.001-07:00

The perks of politics.

More Colors

2009-07-01T22:07:00.000-07:00

For the past few days, I've been having an abusive relationship with Photoshop and my computer. Learning crunch time PS techniques and dealing with nothing but a track pad(no mouse, tablet, etc.). I'm only really happy with one or two of them, but they seem acceptable for print.

Oh, and apparently I didn't mention it... all of this martial arts stuff is an illustration gig for the sixth edition of the Hero Gaming System. Not sure when it'll be published, but I believe it'll be out by the end of the year.

Cheers.

Color

2009-07-01T16:08:00.001-07:00

An acceptable coloring job... I've at least learned a lot in the last few days.

Color

2009-06-26T16:54:00.000-07:00

This took way too long to color.

footsie

2009-06-25T23:04:00.000-07:00

Bamboooooooo

2009-06-25T02:35:00.001-07:00

Not While I'm Eating

2009-06-22T21:16:00.000-07:00

Just like the last, this is way too busy as a b&w.

Sun Wukong

2009-06-21T22:49:00.001-07:00

Coloring will make sense of all that busyness.

2009-06-20T22:18:00.000-07:00

Hup!

2009-06-20T03:05:00.001-07:00

Havoc In Heaven

2009-05-31T16:43:00.000-07:00

Hunting around for some visual reference for Sun Wukong, "The Monkey King". I found this gorgeous Chinese animated film from 1965. The animation is so unique and fluid, and the color is like cotton candy for my eyes. If you really love me, you will buy this for me on DVD.

Playlist of the whole film in YouTube

New

2009-05-13T03:49:00.000-07:00

More backing board ink brush familiarization. I didn't wanna put the two directly together, thinking I couldn't avoid a seem, but the spacing could've worked better. I'll make something out of it.

Getting Better

2009-05-01T23:10:00.001-07:00

Stay away, angel!

India ink and brush on backing board. Pencilled at the park with buddies, inked while Rocky Balboa punched Russia a lot.

2009-04-30T02:06:00.000-07:00

Ink brush exercise. Done while watching G.I. Joe: The Animated Movie. This picture makes no sense.

Jademus Pryde

2009-04-29T18:30:00.001-07:00

A Kitty Pryde pinup for the Kitty Pryde tribute show at Floating World Comics, May 7. It's a fundraiser for the Oregon Hemophilia Treatment Center, and I'm donating the original for auction. I'm still playing around with ink wash, so this didn't come out quite how I would've liked, but I still kinda like it.

http://fullofpryde.blogspot.com/

'Nother

2009-04-13T02:10:00.000-07:00

Automatic Ink Brush Sketch

2009-04-12T14:40:00.001-07:00

2009-04-10T23:44:00.000-07:00

Ink brush rookie has fun with ink brush

EsoZone 2009

2009-04-10T10:39:00.000-07:00

Consignment logo gig for my friends organizing Esozone

ESOZONE 2009: "POWER"

panel

2009-04-10T10:06:00.001-07:00

Bored

2009-04-01T05:52:00.000-07:00

Pencil rough for a Kitty Pryde pinup for Floating World. She looks jaded.

Brainstorm Done

2009-03-31T05:05:00.000-07:00

Yankee Doodle

Jack the Stripper

Life of the Party

2009-03-25T03:19:00.000-07:00

Enter, The Villain

2009-03-24T06:52:00.000-07:00

Io Pan

2009-02-03T06:43:00.001-08:00

Just a little ole consignment to help fill out the rent.

Splash of Purple Rain

2009-01-26T13:16:00.000-08:00

MALKUT

2009-01-21T15:40:00.000-08:00

Here's the full submission for Andrei's abstract comics anthology...

2008-11-25T19:10:00.000-08:00

A page from an abstract comic submission I'll be sending out in a day or two:

MoBBstar

2008-09-22T06:55:00.001-07:00

Ganesh, he who knocks down obstacles... get it? Of course you do!

One Classy Prostitute

2008-09-05T01:36:00.001-07:00

Hmph!

2008-08-31T23:51:00.001-07:00

The Yankee, Syd Barrett Style

2008-08-29T07:07:00.001-07:00

The Marvel

2008-08-25T06:21:00.000-07:00

I met Richard Carbonneau online a while ago. He seemed to dig Invader, and was himself writing a bio comic about Jack Parsons. The few pages that were drawn impressed the shit out of me, and I've been looking forward to reading the thing. He's finally been publishing it, in installments online:

http://www.webcomicsnation.com/rscarbonneau/parsons/series.php?view=single&ID=112658

There are at least 25 pages up already, and it's surprisingly well done. Fantastic, even. From what I can gather, the artist Robin Simon hasn't really done much before this, but this is pro shit. It'd be a shame if this doesn't get published.

The Yankee

2008-08-24T17:07:00.000-07:00

Sketched this yesterday at work. This character is kind of difficult to nail down. I'm trying to find a balance between him being a pompous ass, and still managing to be accessible(sympathetic might not be the right word) to the reader. I also need to find the right balance between him being fashionably hip and attractive, but with an awkwardness that makes it all not really work. That sense that he thinks he's way more attractive than he actually is. And all this without plunging into caricature.

2008-08-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

Day off, listening to Cannibal Ox while I juggle cleaning my house and playing with character sketches for the next comic I want to work on, The Yankee. Here is a list of looks that will mesh for the main character: Purple Rain era Prince, Alucard, Stardust era Bowie, Ichabod Crane, Phantom of the Paradise fashion sense, and what I call "dandy black metal". The only other thing I will say about it is that it involves anachronistic pimp philosophers. This is going to be fun.

Call Me Stella

2008-07-30T05:07:00.000-07:00

Been dead artwise since starting a new job, but I'm slowly getting my groove back. Did a consignment RPG character sketch for someone:

artshowartshow

2008-06-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

come celebrate the birth of our nation by stroking my ego!

Bringin' Arrows Back

2008-06-24T01:54:00.000-07:00

Designy fun, this probably looks weirder to others than it does to me. Oh well, I did it for myself, and it'll look good in the wall of a tattoo shop(my next art show, next month).

I like arrows.

Character Sketch

2008-06-11T19:09:00.001-07:00

Self Portrait

2008-06-11T19:08:00.001-07:00

Flirting With Superheroics

2008-06-05T00:52:00.000-07:00

Well, more super than heroic. More like a big, superpowered asshole that can fly and doesn't know how to do nice things.

Since I can't seem to finish one page without starting on another one, I don't have a single page from the comic finished. I suppose finalizing everything will feel lightening quick, but it's still a very unprofessional habit. So I gotta put something up here, so here's the page I'm working on now:

2008-05-12T23:45:00.000-07:00

Some thumbnail pages out of my sketchbook. I thumbnail a lot, but the amount of detail is hardly consistent. I either stop when I get a good idea of a shot, or get too interested in it, and end up using the more detailed panels to enlarge and trace onto comic paper as a starting point:

This one is a perfect example. I got the right pose I was going for, but it wasn't the right size in the panel. So I shrunk the borders, and started getting an idea about the background. Scanned, I can enlarge it to 11x17 paper scale. This sort of thing really helps to be able to take in the whole composition... something I cannot do at all drawing at the larger size.

2008-05-09T18:46:00.000-07:00

I found a pen in my art box that I bought, must be a year ago: a Tombow ABT double headed marker pen. Decided to play with it a little... and sweet Granny Goodness, I'm in love. I only used the fat end, which creates good variety in line widths because the tip is still super fine. Not sure what the ink is(pretty sure it's not India), but it's remarkably black, dries very quickly, and didn't bleed on my so-so sketchbook paper:

This is a super quick sketch I did, vaguely of the main character for the comic I'm working on right now. I went overkill on the blacks, but I was just playing around with the pen. I likey, and think I'll be buying a bunch more. I got some good brush strokes out of it which is great, because I still haven't put forth anytime to learn how to use a proper ink brush.

Cheating!

2008-05-01T13:02:00.000-07:00

So, I think this'll be the final image:

I keep thinking I should add some effects in the background, but I have such a love for flat graphic color. Hence the vague geometry with the tree of life in the foreground. I know not many will get it, more of a wink to those that do, but my hope is that it doesn't need to be got. That it'll be okay looking a little weird and sci-fi-esque, fitting the abstract nature of the book. But this is the exact sort of thing I'd like feedback about from a publisher. We'll see, but overall I think seeing this and a few colored pages will at least cause editors to take a longer look at it. It was designed for the color to make it flourish, and I never intended it to be seen in B&W.

I guess this means I'm officially giving a damn about Invader again. Oy.

Here's hoping.

color

2008-04-29T04:15:00.000-07:00

Ah, the conundrum: do I post works in progress, chronicling myself as I learn? Or shall I act the professional and post only finished pieces, as if I know what I'm doing?

Hurm.

So I've been wasting time getting to know my Photoshop a little better. People seemed to like the coloring of the cat girl(enough to be covered on a porn blog), so I'm trying my hand at the cover for Invader, the comic I did so long ago. We never found a colorist, so I figure why not?

So there it is. Not nearly finished, but I'm getting the retarded impression that I could actually do this.

pop

2008-04-27T00:58:00.000-07:00

First attempt at coloring anything digitally using more than 2 colors. There are only 2 or 3 tones to each color, but still... I'm pleased as first drafts go. Be gentle:

Mischief

2008-04-26T12:48:00.001-07:00

A friend liked the Zoo Bomb pinup I did, and wanted one of her. Juan called it "topless terrorism"... I like that.

Random Things

2008-04-23T22:31:00.000-07:00

Some things from the last year I haven't put up here yet:

Wodan

Qián LOL

Shinai Couture

Happy Thought

Bored, and PS was still open...

2008-04-22T03:19:00.001-07:00

Now it's an official flyer for the Zoo Bombers.

Blatant Pinup Lolwut

2008-04-21T16:06:00.001-07:00

Sketched at a Zoo Bomber house party... I guess that explains the elbow pad...

macro[micro]

2008-04-21T00:40:00.000-07:00

Hadit

Nuit

Vayu Pirate Radio

2008-04-18T20:44:00.000-07:00

This s my first attempt at playing with inkwash. I don't know why I held off this long, because I love it. It came out well, though a little less consistent than I would've hoped for. But hey, first attempt... I can't be too dissatisfied.
And here's a basic colored version.

sketchers

2008-04-18T01:53:00.000-07:00

Doing some character designing... decided to play around with my sharpies again...

Juan Ochoa

2008-04-13T16:57:00.000-07:00

Long time, no posty. This place should be getting a little busier, but for now I'll just link you to my good friend Juan's new art blog:

http://www.ochoaart.com/daily/

I'm in awe of his work. Particularly his sketches, as they look like they're done with such ease that it makes me jealous, as I usually spend way too much time trying to be precise.

Keep an eye on this guy.

Art Show today

2008-01-03T14:43:00.000-08:00

Wow. Seeing my name on a poster is pretty awesome.

From Jason Levian:

FLOATING WORLD COMICS PRESENTS:

Jan. poster by Lukas Ketner

"A LIFE IN PICTURES"
GROUP SHOW WITH 19 LOCAL ARTISTS, LOOSELY UNITED BY A STANLEY KUBRICK DOCUMENTARY THAT I ASKED EACH OF THE ARTISTS TO WATCH LAST MONTH.

This January Floating World Comics is proud to present a varied group show with some of the town's best and brightest new artists, painters and illustrators. In order to find a connecting thread between all these artists, I came up with the theme "A LIFE IN PICTURES" which they were asked to interpret however they liked. To get things rolling I invited them all to watch the Stanley Kubrick documentary with the same name, "A LIFE IN PICTURES". I instructed the artists that the show did not necessarily have to be Kubrick themed. But rather, I found the documentary to be very inspiring and it rejuvenated my creative spirit. It reminded me why good art is so important to me. I hoped that the experience would have a similar and unifying effect if the artists in the show watched it as well.

LISTING INFORMATION:

WHO: 19 local artists, painters, illustrators, comic makers: ASHLEY ARMBRUSTER, JON ASCHER, RYAN BERKLEY, KELLI BIRD, LISA HALL, JONATHAN HILL, LUKAS KETNER, ROSS KOEHL, IAN MCEWAN, THOMAS NOWADLY, TYLER OWINGS, RILEY PARKER, JASON RAINEY, SHJF (SUPER HIGH-TECH JET FIGHTERS), CLIFTON WHITEHEAD, TEX WINTERS.

WHAT: I asked each artist to watch a documentary about Stanley Kubrick called "A LIFE IN PICTURES". Whether or not it inspired the work they will be presenting at the show is up to them. It sounds like many of Kubrick's themes will be represented in the works including his views on humanity, and our potential to do great or terrible things.

WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 3rd, 6-10pm
Show runs through Feb. 1st.

WHERE: Floating World Comics
20 NW 5th Ave 101
Portland, OR 97209

So please join us this First Thursday, January 3rd to view the results!

I didn't finish the piece I was going to bring in today. It's a super widescreen piece, so big that it took two 17in. long bristol boards attached together. I finished the first half, but I only got about a third done of the second. It was just too much work, and at 6am this morning I could no longer see the paper due to exhaustion. I feel like I failed. BUT, at least the first half will make a good piece to show, and I'm going to finish the other as soon as this is all over(and maybe I can bring it to FW and attach it for the rest of the month). I am fucking determined.

Finished first half

Jotun tarot project

2007-12-17T04:22:00.000-08:00

I designed two tarot cards for a deck put together by Raven Kaldera(author most notably for Urban Primitive, among others). It's a deck designed by various artists, and themed around the Jotun, the frost giants of Norse myth. Here's the Ten of Swords, which I finally scanned and cleaned up:

This illustrates a story I'd never read about. Odin punishes Loki by turning his youngest son Vali into a wolf, as Loki and his(third?) wife Sigyn are forced to watch him kill his older son Narvi.

And the Six of Wands...

This one shows the frost giant Mundilfari, known as "the turner of time" and father to Sol and Mani, standing triumphantly amidst the timeline.

I find it interesting that the two cards I ended up doing are essentially "Absolute Win" and "Absolute Fail". Hee.

Here's a link to Raven's page with most of the deck on it. I know he plans on printing the deck, but I haven't heard back yet on how widely. It would kind of awesome if I could order it into my bookstore. :D

Now, to finish my whiskey, smoke, and sleep.

PKD makes a mean brisket

2007-12-07T17:21:00.000-08:00

+ Awoke from dreams about me barbecuing with Philip K. Dick and ever since, art has been on my mind.

+ I've been staring at de Kooning's paintings all day and seeing random amazing things in them. There's a huge separation in art, mostly in painting, where one end of it can almost only be appreciated in a gallery. Pollock, Basquiat, de Kooning, Kandinsky, Picasso, etc... you know what I'm talking about. And that has nothing to do with how intellectual they are, but it's really just a matter of size. The size of the painting, and the distance the viewer is from it. Look at every famous painter and look at their work. They're HUGE. Most of them are only as small as 70 square inches. So, the stimulus you receive by looking at a photo of a Jackson Pollock are very different, and limited, than seeing it on a wall... all 8 square feet of it.

So in a sense, this kind of art is limited due to its experiential demands, but that is also what makes them rare and special. I don't by any means think of Pollock's and de Kooning's and Basquiat's as superior art. I draw comic books, and have been moved immensely by simple black and white illustration. But they are different, for sure, and I think they're given more credence simply because they can only be experienced under specific circumstances(and usually in the midst of a clique mentality that can be nasty at times). And it also took me a while to actually appreciate art like that, even though we're constantly told to love it and consider them geniuses and mavericks.

+ Interesting article on the speculative death of photography.

+ this site will assuredly kill boredom in the workplace for a little while. Just click anytime you want to change colors.

+ coffee is brewing!

Interview on Alterati

2007-09-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

My first interview about my artwork. Not too bad showing up on Alterati, which btw is a site you should be going to, if you aren't already. Go, leave comments on the site, and download my comic for free there as well.

http://www.alterati.com/blog/?p=1242

"I’m spatially oriented by nature, which led me to drawing throughout my life. I think visually, so my ideas tend to urge me to want to see them physically. And being able to generate an image that looks three dimensional, when it’s really not, is appealing. That “Ceci n’est pas une pipe” feeling, that your eye is seeing one thing, and your mind is turning into something else. Comics especially, since the panel form of illustration forces your mind to continue generating narrative between the moments we choose to illustrate, as artists."

Invader: full issue

2007-08-28T22:29:00.000-07:00

Invader, issue 1, for your friendly Comic Book Reader:

http://irreality.net/mediastore/579/media//Invader1.cbz.zip

Excelsior!

Meme spreading

2007-04-20T18:35:00.001-07:00

So I just got word that a fairly well known website has chosen one of my designs for their logo. Insert basic "non-disclosure jargon until an announcement is made" spiel. I will say that I love the site, so I'm happy that I'm officially a contributer. That, and it's something else I can have in my portfolio that's credible.

Here's a drawing of a seahorse.

Occulty design

2007-04-11T14:26:00.000-07:00

More personal stuff...Actual ink drawing

Rudimentary coloring job

More sketchbook stuff

2007-04-06T14:13:00.000-07:00

I've been in a sharpie mood lately. Probably from watching street graff documentaries...

sketches

2007-04-05T04:44:00.001-07:00

I don't want to post any more Invader pages quite yet. We're beginning the submissions process and if I put anything else up, that'll be whole ish available for free online(which I'll do if it doesn't get picked up). Finding a colorist has been a hell of a thing.

Anyway, here are some recent designy things out of my sketchbook:
This is an idea for a website logo I was asked to do.

And this, which I might even get as a tattoo.

Peep the download

2006-12-19T00:36:00.001-08:00

A pdf of that 15 page ashcan I made is here for download.

That's all I've got for now. G'night.

Babble-O-matic!

2006-12-08T02:10:00.000-08:00

I've recently been offered the chance of a gallery showing here in Portland. I don't have much that's a decent size, and not too much single piece work, but I'd still be interested in how it would fair in a gallery, and I'm working on some cool stuff I want to do just to hang up on the walls. Those should be good gallery pieces, nice and pretentious. Hopefully I don't seize up into a nervous ball of fleshy bits when/if it happens.

I've been thinking about my style lately. It's weird, and I think this happens to a lot of artists, but I never really saw a particular style in my stuff. People tell me I have it, but I never see it, and when I do, I see multiple styles and can't help but think that it needs refinement, a cohesive focus that I lack. I feel like I sometimes push myself, but then don't see it in the end result. I guess lately I'm feeling a little more like me when I draw or design, which is a good start. Anyway.

I've obtained yet another online personality here at ComicSpace. It's slow in the starting, but could be a potentially fruitful networking tool, and already has a lot of actual professionals as members. Hey! Dave Gibbons just signed up.

Style-O-matic

2006-12-06T12:50:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite artists, Paul Pope, has a new blog called PulpHope. Most well known recently for Batman Year 100, he's one of the few people in the industry that I could say has an original style and I strongly recommend checking out his 2 major graphic novel works, Heavy Liquid and 100%He's got some great art up as well as some interesting musings on process and motivation.

Also, my friend Timothy Green finally has his website back up: www.timothygreenii.com. You may have seen his work in the Dark Horse adaptation of the Aeon Flux film.
An awesomely poofish Savage Dragon by Tim.

The Cosmic Harlot

2006-11-10T15:40:00.000-08:00

This I did about 3 years ago, but I never finished it. It's almost done, but as I'm too busy with the comic, I don't know if I'll get around to it. While fixing it up in Photoshop though, I realized for the first time how much I like this one, and how much I can tighten it up. Maybe when I get the chance, I'll redraw it instead.

Personal design thingy

2006-09-30T04:37:00.002-07:00

Just a design thing a did for myself, in an effort to keep puting stuff up here. More pages soon, this time some pencilled work, as I'm training myself to approach things differently. I'll explain things later.

Part of something bigger

2006-09-12T23:33:00.000-07:00

Drawing warm up

2006-09-12T16:31:00.000-07:00

This is progress?

2006-08-16T02:42:00.000-07:00

From Gay League

"Joe Quesada still says no ongoing solo series starring gay or lesbian characters at Marvel Comics without a MAX or 'explicit content' label."

He then goes on to say that his own decision is ridiculous, but explains it by bringing up the old CCA scare tactics from the 50's, as if he thinks that actually still applies. They've already abandoned the code and, let's be honest, they've stopped marketing to kids years ago(just like video games, the average consumer is between 17-30 years of age). Granted the recent coming out of DC and Marvel characters en masse seems forced and gimmicky, but at least that would have led to some sincere diversity down the road. Being gay makes you explicit? When there's plenty of hetero sex flinging about in a lot of their books, especially the entire Ultimate universe? Well at least I'm not interested in any of their books anyway, barring a select few. I love Nextwave, Joe Casey's Fantastic Four, and Ennis' MAX Punisher is still going strong.

But still, how sad.

Exhaustion

2006-08-15T05:31:00.000-07:00

Oh sweet, holy krishna I'm tired. It's 5:38 in the morning. I just finished formatting and sending, one-at-a-time each page of Invader to my friend Jaz who wants to color it. I'm using a site called yousendit.com, which specializes in large file transfer. But it only does one at a time, no multiple file sends or folders. That took forfuckingever. I am now going to bed, and will most likely rise around 1.

Another scrapped project

2006-08-15T01:18:00.000-07:00

When I went to the Comic Con International in San Diego in 2004, I came back with a job! I had met an editer named Allan Freeman, who had done some pro stuff in his time, but has since been publishing small press comics. Incredibly nice guy, a professional all the way. He liked my stuff and wanted to connect me with one of his writers to work on something. It was a comic series called Solitaire and it was about a young black women who uses witchcraft to fight evil. Basically, think Witchblade but she's black. The script I got was very sparse, with no character descriptions, and impossible panel breakdowns. I tried not to dwell on it and began designing the main character. Simple enough, but it led to big problems between me and the writer. Here now, is a brief insight into the evolution of a comic book character...

One of the first designs. I thought she'd look kinda normal. The goggles I liked, but told them I understand if they didn't want it. It turns out they wanted something more super. Allan liked it, but only as an everyday outfit. He wanted me to jazz it up some. The writer didn't like it at all, and when we talked over the phone all he kept saying was, "Have you seen Witchblade? Yeah, like that. Make her really sexy." So, I let loose...

This was one of the new designs. My favorite one actually. I indulged the idea of her being sexy and scantilly clad, but wanted to give her more of a punk edge. This would show a bit more confidence in her, that she was more comfortable with her body. Even to the point of being kind of rude with it, like with the crotchless jeans. She'd also have magical relics and charms strapped all around her, to give her more of an urban shaman look. I also think it's an original angle to take, being that you don't see many punkish black girls in comics. But the writer hated it. He again told me to draw her just like Witchblade, so finally I obliged...

So here's the big splash I did for them, which Allan absolutely loved, but the writer still didn't like it! He then actually emailed me pictures of Michael Turner's Witchblade artwork and in bold capital letters typed LIKE THIS! I got so frustrated with this guy, after a few more weeks of redesigns I quit. It turns out it wasn't my ideas he disliked. He just wanted me to draw like Michael Turner, and I wasn't prepared to completely imitate someone else. It was bad enough I was drawing some crappy Top Cow reject. I hate Top Cow. But if it got me published, I was willing, but only if it was my artwork. I hated quitting, especially since Allan was such a gentleman, but the writer and I weren't a good match, and that's putting it lightly.

Here are some of the other designs I came up with...

Duncan. Main supporting character. Everyman, but part of a secret society(*shrugs*) thats watching Solitaire. For some reason.

Darius, a vampire. I came up with the idea of him being stark white, to the point where his hair wouldn't even show detail. He'd be dressed in a sort of masonic uniform and carry this awesome sci fi staff that shot out energy 'n junk(an idea that my writer actually liked!). I still like the idea of an albino masonic vampire, and might use it later if the opportunity arises.

These are the unfinished pencils of page 1, which I was working on when I quit.

Purging more old stuff

2006-08-13T03:24:00.000-07:00

This was my very first piece of consignment. It was for a friend, but I still considered it a job. It's a portrait of Matt Helm, otherwise known as the American James Bond, and immortalized by Dean Martin's goofy ass.

This is what I was hired to do for the same friend a couple months after. It is going to be the cover to his book, if he ever gets it finished. All he said is, "I want hands holding up a gun. The gun has blood on it's tip, like it was used to stab someone. It should resemble hands praying. And he MUST be wearing a Rolex." I've always liked this one, even though when other people see it, they all have questions about the blood.

A logo I designed for a coworker. She planned on opening a high end sex/bondage shop called Gagball Mary's. Get it? She asked for a logo without any other input, and this is what came out.

This is an illustration for a magazine article that a friend wrote entitled, "The Night Sam Peckinpah Almost Got Me Killed." The article was never published, but then again, neither was the magazine.

Another illustration for said defunct zine. The article was about how Michael Eisner was crushing Disney by shutting down their handrawn animation department. To this day, I still like to think that Eisner has an actual gotti four finger ring with his name on it, that he wears alone at home while watching BET.

Bored.

2006-08-12T13:04:00.000-07:00

I have to leave for work in 45 minutes. Doesn't leave me much time to draw, so here's another Invader page instead. Hopefully this one will make it seem a bit more accesible. It's not all hallucinogenic trips and surfing through multi-dimensional weirdness. It DOES actually take place in 'normal land'. In fact, the first issue may well be the most absract. Anyway, page 20:

Another page from Invader

2006-08-12T03:58:00.000-07:00

One Nation

2006-08-11T22:50:00.000-07:00

This was a comic I worked on before Invader. It was a superhero book about a teenage kid(that had a monkey tale and can warp reality) who's better looking, superhero brother got all the credit. He would've eventually met up with a group of apolitical superfolks trying to escape mandatory governmental registration, like what's going on now in Civil War. A lot of people that know me will be familiar with this.

It was written by another friend, who decided to quit the whole project so it was never finished. This is the first sequential work I had ever done. Here are the first two pages of issue 1, as well as some pinups & character designs...

A pinup of the main character, Surreal.

Jack

Equinox

Oldies

2006-08-11T16:21:00.000-07:00

I feel like putting up some of my older work here. There are a couple reasons for this. Some of it I still really like, while some I think is utter trash. I also want to fill this thing with purty images, to solidifiy a little more as an art blog. But mostly I want to get it allout of my system, so that I have nothing to fall back on. After the next couple of posts, I'll have nothing else to put up here, therefore adding tomy motivation to work faster. Starting off, here are some single pieces I did for myself. They're either for fun or study, but no sequential work...

Ah, my love of monochrome

Honestly I don't know where this came from, or what it means.

This is one my favorite peices. It started off as an anatomy study and eventually took control of itself.

That's it for now.

The femmelord of comics

2006-08-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

Last night, as I was cashiering at the ol' bookstore, Gail Simone walks up to buy some books. She probably has to be the most well known women in mainstream comics, and she was incredibly nice. And I came very close to giving her the old, "Hey, I draw comics! Can I shamelessly hock my work on you?" But I didn't, and now I think I should have, to at least have given her one of my ashcans which I had in the back. Would it have done any good?

Well, I'll always be able to peddle my sweet ass the next time Brian Michael Bendis comes in.

My first published work

2006-08-10T05:34:00.000-07:00

I did an ink assist job for Dan Cooney, creator of an indie book called Valentine. It was for issue 11, which is now available at his site, redeyepress.net. I inked about ten of the pages (all except for the main character on each page, as Dan was kinda testing the waters with me) and you can read the whole issue in pdf format by clicking the preview link. Even though it was just an inking job, it still feels great that something I worked on has been published. BTW, the ish won't make it to comic stores for another 2 months, but my free copies are in the mail!

From the top

2006-08-09T23:34:00.000-07:00

My name is Ian McEwan. Not the same Ian McEwan that writes critically acclaimed novels. I am an aspiring comic book artist, and this is the beginning of my work blog. *yawn* BORING! Alright, I'll start this thing with some actual content. I'm illustrating an independent comic entitled "Invader", written by my comrade Andy West. I am without Andy's proposal or ad copy, so I'll wing it as far as a premise goes.

PREMISE: A mysterious alien lands on earth. A cosmic being, driven by will, who desires to experience what the human race is all about. It begins with him landing in the desert, and coming into contact with a manifestation of earth deities(after ingesting enough peyote to cause even Terence McKenna to wince), who introduce him to this planets underlying principles, and instruct him to help the world on it's evolutionary path. That's an over complicated way of saying he has one hell of an insightful trip. After this "information download", he's off on his merry way to go and fix reality as we know it. Eventually he gets entangled with some rather unenlightened G-men, and any number of weird technologies they've been hiding from the public(que action scenes!), continues his path of cosmic shenanigans(spooky, spooky mojo mischief!), and hopefully manages to turn this place into the utopia that it needs to be. An ongoing series of at least 40+ issues, full color, with no publication deal as-yet. Which means if you likey, and are associated with any publishing companies, let us know.

Here are the first 15 pages of issue 1. They're black and white, and as the coloring isn't there, the line art may seem a little sparse for those of you who aren't used to seeing pre-colored comics pages...